Would this approach also be applicable for the MTV3600 with the Hong Kong versions of the firmware? Those versions appear to have a number of features removed in the NZ versions.(Maybe this should be continued in the MTV3600 forum)

What I believe Ian was proposing was the possibility of obtaining much cheaper hardware in Australia and then being able to apply NZ firmware to make it run OK here.

This is the reverse of what you appear to be interested in.

I was intending it for people who already have the MTV3600

The next post from wklie suggests it is not going to work, due to the different hardware

i respect your honesty , in truth you would sell infinitely more boxes if you sold a freeview compatable box and a copy that actually worked for the consumer. It takes a while to get past the blocks , but when it is achieved the MagicTV box is the best in NZ baring the MYSKY box

dont know if it is just me, but I found the 3700 to be extremely easy to use overall. Just some extra functions werent so easy. I have tried many freeview units over the years including TIVo. 2 Tivo units were unreliable and conked out completely after 4 months. I have to say the MagicTV unit has been the best by far FOR ME. Which means others may disagree but I find it excellent

saying the issue is the freeview blocks to the std magic box are the worst aspect of it . once those are bypassed its great. magic could release the same box with all but the software blocks now to sell alongside the certified one

Jimmy22: i respect your honesty , in truth you would sell infinitely more boxes if you sold a freeview compatable box and a copy that actually worked for the consumer. It takes a while to get past the blocks , but when it is achieved the MagicTV box is the best in NZ baring the MYSKY box

One of the obstacles I see in releasing a non-Freeview version is that if we abandon the Freeview MHEG EPG, using only the non-MHEG EPG (EIT) schedule, my testing shows that its programme names become "." This result contradicts an earlier report about being able to access the 7-day EPG in NZ even using the Australia MTV4000, so I'm puzzled.

If it's possible to tweak NZ firmware to make an Aus Magic work in NZ, is it possible to make a NZ one work in Australia? There are quiet a few people in Aus I know who would like to buy a 4000 model but they aren't sold here any more.

the way i see it you can have a freeview compatible box without the certification , there are many boxes here working without partnership with freeview. Freeview seems like it was put in place to protect copyright . non certified but compatible PVRs are highly popular here . I theory yes you can convert an MTV3700 to a 4000 . Two lost kiwis can confirm for certain.

none that do series record i know , but others feel free to correct me . we have already proved a magictv box can be made to do custom skip times for ads etc and stiil do series record . Just produce one that is open or open able , the rest will take care of itself.

wklie: One of the obstacles I see in releasing a non-Freeview version is that if we abandon the Freeview MHEG EPG, using only the non-MHEG EPG (EIT) schedule, my testing shows that its programme names become "." This result contradicts an earlier report about being able to access the 7-day EPG in NZ even using the Australia MTV4000, so I'm puzzled.

I have reverted my MTV3700 to the Australian firmware. It then uses the over the air EPG guide, which is intentionally crippled by Freeview NZ. It only shows a few upcoming programs, the rest just come up as "."

I guess this proves that you could buy a MTV3700 in New Zealand and then use it in Australia running the Australian firmware.

Jimmy22: the way i see it you can have a freeview compatible box without the certification , there are many boxes here working without partnership with freeview. Freeview seems like it was put in place to protect copyright . non certified but compatible PVRs are highly popular here . I theory yes you can convert an MTV3700 to a 4000 . Two lost kiwis can confirm for certain.

I think the point is that lack of a proper 7 day EPG and no series record would be a deal breaker for most people interested in getting a PVR in NZ. They would be pretty useless without those features.

From my best guess, the only way to get the EPG is to agree to Freeview NZs conditions, or essentially become Freeview approved. Yes PixelMagic now know how to decode the EPG, but they would have been party to a contract to have that disclosed to them so they're now bound to the terms of that contract.

I am sure Freeview NZs conditions would be along the following lines:

No configurable skip forwards/backwards

No exporting unencrypted recorded programs

Hard drives must be encrypted

Devices must not be "open", they must be locked black boxes

And basically a whole lot of other sucky for the consumer conditions

The dumb thing is PC based tuner cards completely bypass this crap. But I don't want some crappy box running under my TV that I have to maintain. I just want a plug and play solution.

Naturally I'd prefer it wasn't locked down with BS restrictions, but my guess is that PixelMagics hands are tied.

2lostkiwis:I have reverted my MTV3700 to the Australian firmware. It then uses the over the air EPG guide, which is intentionally crippled by Freeview NZ. It only shows a few upcoming programs, the rest just come up as "."

I guess this proves that you could buy a MTV3700 in New Zealand and then use it in Australia running the Australian firmware.

Thanks for the test result. I wonder what the non-Freeview boxes do to obtain the EPG in NZ, other than downloading from some sort of EPG service from the internet.

As for NZ/Australia firmwares, I said they are not interchangeable because the Magic TV firmware upgrade function is designed to disallow installation of a normal firmware file that is not meant for your region.